New map highlights food access issues

Many residents in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes live in communities that don't have readily access to nutritious food, a new interactive map developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows.

Nikki BuskeyStaff Writer

Many residents in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes live in communities that don't have readily access to nutritious food, a new interactive map developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows.The map examines which areas in Terrebonne and Lafourche are “food deserts” — places with many residents without access to a vehicle and who do not live within a mile of a grocery store. Some of the largest numbers of residents with food access issues live in Thibodaux and Houma. In parts of west Houma between La. 24 and La. 311, 22 percent of households, or about 480 of 2,147 households, lacked access to nutritious foods. In parts of Thibodaux and Chackbay west of Canal Boulevard and south of La. 308, about 17 percent of residents, or 397 out of 2,278 households lacked food access. While both of these communities have multiple grocery stores, these residents lacked transportation and didn't live within walking distance of a grocery store.Ensuring all residents have access to nutritious foods is a growing concern for nutritionists and health experts, said LSU AgCenter nutritionist Debbie Melvin. When health experts talk about food access, they're mainly referring to whether people can conveniently and affordably buy fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables, instead of the processed foods available at most convenience stores and or dollar stores.“Fruits and vegetables are a key part of healthy diet, but Americans on average do not eat enough of them,” said Diego Rose, professor and head of the nutrition section at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. “Households with difficult access to grocery stores tend to eat even fewer healthy foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables. This is because it costs more for these households to go shopping, both in time and in out-of-pocket transportation costs.”Fresh fruits and vegetables don't last as long as canned and processed foods and need to be replenished more frequently, Rose added. If you live far away from a store, you're less likely to resupply these foods, so you eat less of them.In addition, stores like convenience stores or dollar stores are less likely to stock perishable foods because they will spoil if they're not purchased.Rose said the issue is of particular concern for low-income households that spend a larger share of their money on food and are particularly affected by high prices.While there may be more stores in cities, people often lack access to a car. If they're on the other side of town, it becomes more difficult and more costly to go food shopping. Even where there is public transportation, there are only so many groceries a person can carry if walking or taking the bus.That means people shop less frequently, so they consume less fresh fruits and vegetables.“In a way, it's basic demand theory,” he said. “If the price is too high for something, people will buy less of it. Difficult access to food stores tacks on extra dollars to the grocery bill, so overall purchases are reduced.”Many residents of rural bayou communities said they lack access to grocery stores. As residents have migrated north to escape flooding and high insurance premiums, many businesses in those communities have pulled up roots, and residents now have to take long drives into larger cities such as Houma to shop.Layla O'Brien, 33, a Bayou Black resident, said her area only has a few convenience stores that sell food.“Jean's Country Store closed years ago,” she said. “There isn't even a dollar store or Family Dollar.”She added that while Houma has a variety of grocery stores, it needs something like the health chain Whole Foods, which carries a variety of organic food brands. Local stores carry some organic foods, but they are pricey, she said.Dulac resident Barbara Blankenship said there are no grocery stores in her community that carry fresh fruits, vegetables and meat.“At least Family Dollar has milk and bread and a few other necessary items that you do not have to go into Houma for,” she said.When people consume more processed foods, Melvin said, they're often filling up on things that are less nutritious and filling. “Junk carbs” don't fill them up and leave them consuming more.“It doesn't provide the feeling of fullness, and it snowballs from there,” she said. “That's where we get the paradox of obesity in some of these low-income communities. It's where there are many cheap, low-nutrition foods being consumed.”Melvin said the solutions to food access issues are complicated because grocery stores are businesses.But it can be helped by something as simple as promoting home or community gardening, teaching people to grow their own vegetables and fruits, she said.Experts also recommend looking at transportation infrastructure, promoting supermarket development and encouraging existing stores to carry more diverse and healthy food options.

Staff Writer Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.

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